Concussion vital signs is a computerized testing system designed for student-athletes. It aligns with current sports concussion management guidelines. The brain’s forward and backward movement usually causes concussion or even twisting in the skull.
They used this system as part of a baseline protocol and as a needed post-injury testing helps to facilitate athletes’ evaluation and management. It facilitates the evaluation of student-athletes that may have suffered a concussion.
In any sports activity, there is a possibility of getting injured. Concussion may be the greatest risk for any student athlete’s brain. This is because it can lead to severe difficulties in their day-to-day activities, like remembering things, learning, and even concentrating.
Also, health caregivers who do pat-injury evaluations in schools using the concussion vital sound system will perform post-injury testing with ease when using the school account. All reports are available immediately after testing, as the concussion vital signs is a web-based solution designed to take 25-30 minutes for testing. They archive reports in the testing account.
Concussion vital signs: What Is Concussion?
Concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury (TBI) caused by violent shaking of the head and body from a blow to the head that makes the head and brain to move back and forth. This occurs from a mild blow to the head, either with or without loss of consciousness.
It can lead to cognitive symptoms. The movement of the brain can cause the brain to twist in the skull, damaging brain cells. Read 11 American Sports that Require a Helmet for head protection against injuries like skull fracture, and traumatic brain injuries like concussion.
concussion vital signs: Causes of Concussion
The consistency of your brain is like gelatin. Cerebrospinal fluid in your skull protects it from ordinary jolts and shocks.
A powerful blow to the head, neck, or upper body might cause your brain to slam against the inner walls of your skull, causing it to slide back and forth.
Brain injury can also be induced by sudden acceleration or deceleration of the head, which can occur because of events such as a vehicle accident or being convulsed.
These injuries disrupt brain function for a short period, resulting in concussion signs and symptoms.
This sort of brain damage can cause bleeding in or around the brain, which can cause symptoms, including tiredness and confusion. These symptoms may appear right away or later.
Such bleeding in your brain can be disastrous. That’s why anyone who experiences a brain injury needs monitoring and emergency care if symptoms go worse.
Concussion vital signs: Concussion Risk Factors
Factors that may increase your risk of a concussion are:
- Falling, especially in young children and older adults
- Taking part in high-risk sports like soccer, football, boxing
- You being involved in a car collision
- Taking part in high-risk sports without supervision or proper safety equipment
- You being involved in a bicycle or pedestrian accident
- You being involved in physical abuse
- Having had a previous concussion
- You being a soldier involved in a combat
Complications
Potential complications of concussion are:
- Post-traumatic headaches. Concussion-related headaches may last in some people for up to 7 days after brain injury.
- Post-traumatic vertigo. Some people experience dizziness for days, weeks, or months after a brain injury.
- Constant post-concussive symptoms. Few people may experience symptoms like thinking difficulties, dizziness, and headaches that persist even after three weeks. If this goes on even after three months, it becomes characterized as persistent post-concussive symptoms.
- Second impact syndrome. Athletes should avoid returning to sports while still experiencing signs and symptoms of concussion.
Prevention
Some tips that may help to prevent or reduce your risk of head injury are:
- Wearing protective headgear during sports-related activities. You should make sure the equipment fits properly. Also, maintain good fair play.
- While taking part in activities like snowboarding and bicycling, have protective headgear on.
- Wear your seat belt. You should wear your seat belt properly while in a vehicle. This may prevent serious accidents, including head injury.
- Take care of your home. Your floors should always be free from things that can cause you to fall. Falls around the house can lead to head injuries.
- Exercise regularly. Exercise often to improve your balance by strengthening your leg muscles.
- Keep your children safe. Block off stairways to protect your children from falls, which can lead to head injury.
- Educate others about concussions. You can spread awareness by educating athletes, coaches, parents, and others about concussions. This can help spread awareness as coaches and parents can help encourage good sportsmanship.
Concussion vital signs: Mild Concussion
Mild concussion is a type of concussion. There are 3 types of concussions and they are in grades. There are:
- Grade 1: it is usually mild with symptoms that last less than 15 minutes and involves no loss of consciousness.
- Grade 2: it is usually moderate with symptoms that last longer than 15 minutes. There is no loss of consciousness involved.
- Grade 3: it is usually severe in which the person loses consciousness, sometimes for just a few seconds.
What are the symptoms of concussion?
The signs and symptoms of concussion can be tricky and may not be clear immediately. Symptoms can last for a few days, a week, or even longer. Some of the physical signs and symptoms of concussion are:
- Headache
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Ringing in the ears
- Fatigue or drowsiness
- Blurry vision
Some other signs of concussion are:
- Confusion or agreeing as if in a fog
- Amnesia surrounding the traumatic event
- Dizziness or seeing stars
A witness may observe the following signs and symptoms in a concussed person:
- Temporal loss of consciousness (very rare)
- Delayed response to questions
- Slurred speech
- Dazed appearance
- Forgetfulness like repeatedly asking the same questions
While you may observe some signs and symptoms right after the incident, some may occur days after the day’s injury, such as
- Concentration and memory complaints
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- Sleep disturbances
- Irritability and other personality changes
- Disorders of taste and smell
- Psychological adjustment problems and depression
Concussion vital signs: Symptoms of concussion in Children
Head trauma is common in children. It is difficult to know if a child has a concussion because they do not know how to express themselves or describe how they feel. Concussion clues may include:
- Dazed appearance
- Listlessness and tiring easily
- Excessive crying
- Loss of balance and unsteady walking
- Irritability and crankiness
- Lack of interest in favorite toys
- Change in eating or sleeping patterns
- Seizures
- Vomiting
Concussion vital signs: Concussion Test
Concussion tests are one method used to diagnose concussion. Specialists or doctors assess your brain function before and after a head injury.
Most concussion tests comprise questionnaires or symptoms checklists. Concussion tests check for things like memory, focus, balance, coordination, alertness, how fast you think, and your ability to solve problems.
Composition of Concussion Test
Almost every concussion test comprises questionnaires or symptom of checklists. Concussion tests check for things like focus, balance, memory, alertness, your ability to think, and how you solve problems.
Types of Concussion Tests
There are many concussion tests. Most comprise questionnaires or symptom checklists and they all have their scoring system. Coaches, athletic trainers, or sports medicine physicians give some concussion tests, while some are self-reported tests. You can fill it by yourself. Some concussion tests are:
- SAC tests.
On the sidelines and in emergency rooms, people use the standardized assessment of concussion (SAC) test to check athletes’ immediate mental condition. The athlete’s orientation, immediate memory, concentration, and delayed memory are all tested in this test. It takes roughly five minutes to finish SAC. The following are examples of test questions:
- Stating the date, month, year, day of the week, and your present time.
- Memorizing and recalling a list of words
- Repeating a sequence of numbers backward
- Saying the month of the year backward
- SCAT 5
SCAT (Sports Concussion Assessment Tool 5) is a concussion evaluation tool used for those who are 13 and above. It includes the SAC test and others like yes/no symptom checklists, a neck evaluation and balance assessment, and other information on injury and concussion-related problems. It takes roughly 15 to 20 minutes to be complete.
- Balance Tests
BESS (Balance Error Scoring System). It measures your balance, and it is made up of 6 stances:
- Three on a firm surface
- The same three on an unstable surface like medium-density foam
During the test, they place your hands on your hips with closed eyes. The posture is with your feet shoulder-width apart. They hold all stances for 20 seconds each. Your one foot should be in front of the other and a single leg stands on your non-dominant leg.
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MACE
Military Acute Concussion Evaluation. It collects information about the event, concussion signs, and symptoms. It also includes a version of the SAC test information.
- King-Devick Test
A coach or trainer asks each athlete to recite numbers on three index cards to begin this athlete concussion test. They spread unequally a set of random numbers across eight lines on each card. This timed they conduct test before the start of the athletic season.
If they hit the athlete in the head, he or she must leave the field and retake the test. The athlete may have a concussion if they finish the test five seconds slower than the first time they did it. The 1-minute concussion test and the 2-minute concussion test are two different names for the same exam.
- PCSS Test
The post-concussion symptom scale (PCSS) test is a self-reported test in which you classify 21 symptoms by severity at baseline and at various time points. Symptoms include thinking, sleep, physical and emotional functioning.
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ACE
Acute Concussion Evaluation (ACE) tool. It includes questions about concussion characteristics, a checklist of 22 concussion symptoms, and risk factors that might make the recovery process long. The form collects certain information like:
- Concussion cause
- Early signs of concussion
- Loss of consciousness
- Memory issues
- Concussion history
- Headache history
- Development history like learning disabilities
- Psychiatric histories like depression, anxiety, and sleep disorder
- Emergency symptoms like seizures, weakness, and numbness
- Diagnosis and follow-up plan
- Computerized Neurocognitive Tests
The immediate post-concussion assessment and the cognitive test is a computerized test for athletes 12 years and above. It has 3 sections.
– The athlete fills down their history of sports participation, learning abilities, drug and alcohol use, and other neurologic disorders.
– They complete a checklist of 22 symptoms
– They complete modules that test visual and verbal memory, reaction time, ability to learn, and their brain’s visual processing speed.
- C3 Logix (Propriety Test)
Cleveland Clinic has come up with its concussion mobile application for medical professionals who assess and manage concussions. After baseline data is collected, the C3 app is used to:
– Document the injury
– Conduct an initial assessment on the field
– Measure the individual’s impairments
– Help manage symptom recovery
– Help determined when they’ve recovered and can return to participation
In case a medical professional did not do your test, you should still see one and your medical professional will also do a complete exam, including balanced and vision checks. They may also do a brain trauma indicator, which is a blood test. To check for bruising in the brain, they might do as well imaging tests. All these are very important in testing for concussion.
Ways to Test If You Have a Concussion
Back then, while in high school, my friend and I were passing by a football field. We didn’t see any ball coming. Exactly how it happened took me by surprise. The players in the field kicked the ball, and it mistakenly hit my friend out of the field.
She was unconscious for a few seconds. She woke up with spinning eyes. Some mates and I immediately took her to the school dispensary.
The school nurse figured out it was a concussion and permitted her to go home. The nurse suspected a concussion because she complained she was experiencing the following symptoms:
- Headache
- Vomiting/ nausea
- Bothered by light
- Balance problems
- Confusion
- Feeling down
- Difficulty in remembering things
- Eye pain or eye fatigue
Concussion Vital Signs
Concussion vital sign is an automated testing system developed for student-athletes. It aligns with current sports concussion management guidelines. The brain’s forward and backward movement usually causes it or even twisting in the skull.
They used this system as part of a baseline protocol and, as needed, post-injury testing helps to facilitate athletes’ evaluation and management. It facilitates the evaluation of student-athletes that may have suffered a concussion.
In any sports activity, there is a possibility of getting injured. Concussion may be the greatest risk for any student athlete’s brain. This is because it can lead to severe difficulties in their day-to-day activities, like remembering things, learning, and even concentrating.
Also, health caregivers who do pat-injury evaluations in schools using the concussion vital sound system will perform post-injury testing with ease when using the school account. All reports are available immediately after testing as the concussion vital signs is a web-based solution designed to take 25-30 minutes for testing. They archive reports in the testing account.
CNS Vital Signs
CNS vital sign is a computerized neurocognitive test battery that was developed as a routine clinical screening instrument. It comprises 7 tests: finger tapping, verbal and visual memory, the Stroop test, symbol digit coding, a test of shifting attention, and the continuous performance test.
Because CNSVS (CNS vital sign) is a collection of well-known neuropsychological tests, its psychometric qualities should be like those of the traditional tests on which it is established. The normative database for CNSVS included 1069 participants ranging in age from 7 to 90.
TRT also known as Test-retest reliability, was assessed in 99 Ss who completed the battery on two consecutive times separated by an average of 62 days; the results were comparable to those got by comparable conventional and computerized tests. The concurrent validity of 180 people, both normal and neuropsychiatric disorders, revealed correlations that were comparable to the concurrent validity of related tests.
Studies of patients with mild cognitive impairment and dementia, post-concussion syndrome and severe traumatic brain damage, ADHD (treated and untreated), and depression suggest discriminant validity. The CNSVS tests are also sensitive to malingerers and conversion disorder patients.
The psychometric properties of the CNSVS battery tests are remarkably comparable to those of the traditional neuropsychological tests on which they are based. They can use CNSVS as a screening tool or as part of a series of assessments. However, this isn’t a substitute for formal neuropsychological testing.
CNS Vital Signs Report
It presents the testing results in a summary domain dashboard and a detailed report format immediately following the testing session. A medical health professional does the report interpretation and is always very precise.
This is because the CNS vital signs reports are logical and intuitive. They should consider all assessment results with some important clinical information, like history, physical examination imaging studies, and other neuropsychological tests.
Concussion Vital Signs in Children
Children that are 2 years and above may show behavioral changes, like:
- Blurry vision
- Dizziness
- Sensitivity to light and noise
- They have trouble concentrating
- Seem like they’re daydreaming
- Remembering difficulty
- Confused
- Take long to answer questions
- Difficulty sleeping
- Changes in mood
- Drowsiness
A toddler may indicate when their head hurts and symptoms in toddlers can include:
- Headache
- Vomiting
- So much crying
- Loss of interest in playing
- Behavior changes
- Change in sleep routine
Signs in young babies can include:
- Crying when their head is moved
- Vomiting
- Irritability
- Interruption in sleeping habits
Concussion vital signs: Concussion Treatment
Resting and restricting activities are the only treatment of concussion. The brain needs enough rest after a concussion. It could last for a week, months, or even a year, depending on how severe the concussion was. They can also use medication for headache. The brain also needs rest from both physical and mental activities to get well after a concussion. After a concussion, avoid using screens like TV, tablets, laptops, and smartphones. This is because things like this excite and overstimulate the brain. A healthy diet is also very important during concussion recovery.
Stages of Concussion Recovery
After a concussion, many people recover within 2 weeks to 1 month. Very few people take a longer time to recover. Each concussion is different, so the recovery time for everyone varies. After a concussion, individuals need to suspend certain activities like going to work, school, sports, and house chores.
You shouldn’t take any medication without the doctor’s prescription. Anyone who has suffered a concussion shouldn’t be too left alone within the first 24 hours.
After this phase, people can return to their normal lives, but they have to take things slow so as not to reinsure themselves or overstress. People should ask their doctors if they can:
- Go back to work
- Drink alcohol
- Drive a car
- Travel in a plane
- Resume sports activities
- Make important decisions
If someone isn’t recovering fully from a concussion, they should see the doctor again to check for post-concussion syndrome.
FAQs
What Factors Can Affect Recovery?
– The more severe the injury, the more time one takes to recover.
– Have enough rest no matter how young or strong you are.
– Trying to do too much might interfere with the healing process. Avoid exercises to prevent a repeat of brain injury.
– Eating a healthy diet can promote fast recovery.
On the contrary some factors may interfere with concussion recovery, such as
– A history of concussion
– Preexisting neurological problems
– Age. Older people take longer to recover
What Is Post-Concussion Syndrome?
While most concussions (80-85)% heal in a short amount of time of seven to ten days, some people may experience symptoms that last longer than three to four weeks. They call this condition post-concussion syndrome. If they leave it untreated; this syndrome can cause problems at work or school, and significant discomfort and sadness. However, if your symptoms have persisted for more than a month after your concussion, you may need more intensive neurologic treatment. Our doctors will assess you and arrange for further testing.
What Are Some Complications Of Concussion?
– Post-traumatic headaches
– Post traumatic vertigo
– Second impact syndrome
– Cumulative effects of multiple brain injuries
– Persistent post-concussive symptoms
